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The 

Preservation 
of  Wood 


Published  in  the  interests  of 
forest  conservation  by 

THE  RODD  COMPANY 

CENTURY  'BUILDING     PITTSBURGH,  PA. 


Copyright   1919 

Thomas  Rodd,  Jr. 

Pittsburgh,  Pa. 


FOREWORD 

THIS  little  book  is  not  one  of  original 
research.  Its  data  and  materials  come 
chiefly  from  previous  publications.  But 
they  were  in  technical  language  for  techni- 
cal men.  This  book  is  for  the  layman  who 
uses  wood.  If  he  has  suddenly  discovered 
that  his  unpreserved  wood  has  decayed,  it 
tells  him  how  he  can  avoid  that  replacement 
bill  next  time.  If  he  has  preserved  his  wood 
without  consulting  the  probable  mechanical 
life  of  his  timber,  it  shows  him  that  a 
cheaper  process  might  have  served  his  pur- 
pose with  better  economy.  If  he  has  doubted 
even  the  evidence  of  his  own  eyes,  in  seeing 
wood  supposed  to  be  sound  go  quietly  to 
powder  at  unaccountable  speed,  it  tells  him 
how  wood  if  sound  in  the  beginning  can  be 
made  to  remain  so  up  to  the  limit  of  its 
mechanical  service. 

In  this  book  we  have  utilized  every  avail- 
able source  of  information  and  have  made 
every  effort  at  comprehensive  treatment  and 
scientific  accuracy.  The  most  notable  work 
on  the  subject  is  The  Preservation  of  Struc- 
tural Timber  by  Howard  F.  Weiss,  pub- 

Floors   of  Creolignum — quiet,  smooth,  economical. 

423028 


nmn 


lished  by  the  McGraw-Hill  Book  Co.,  New 
York.  For  the  permission  of  the  author  and 
the  publisher  to  use  some  of  its  material,  we 
are  glad  to  record  our  grateful  appreciation. 
But  this  little  book  wishes  to  do  more 
than  to  inform  the  layman  who  buys  and 
uses  wood  how  he  may  best  serve  his  indi- 
vidual interests.  It  wishes  to  make  him 
realize  what  every  scientist  and  engineer  has 
long  since  realized  acutely — the  national 
necessity  of  protecting  his  wood  against  the 
attack  of  its  enemies.  His  desire  to  cut 
down  replacement  to  a  minimum  is  also  one 
of  the  most  vital  needs  of  his  country.  This 
book  wishes  to  do  its  bit,  and  to  acquaint 
him  with  the  opportunity  to  do  his  bit,  in 
the  great  national  effort  to  conserve  our  re- 
sources. By  protecting  his  own  wood  in 
the  best  way  for  his  specific  purpose,  he  is 
at  the  same  time  protecting  our  forests  for 
the  common  good  of  all. 

THOMAS  RODD,  Jr., 
Century  Building,  Pittsburgh. 


Creolignum  is  engineered  to  suit  the  needs  of  the  indi- 
vidual buyer. 


•num. 


The  National  Need 

FOUR  thousand  years  ago  an  Egyptian  cof- 
fin-maker built  a  mummy  case  of  wood. 
Two  years  ago  a  Connecticut  manufacturer 
laid  a  wooden  floor  in  his  mill.  The  Egyp- 
tian coffin,  after  four  thousand  years  of  serv- 
ice, is  still  in  a  perfect  state  of  preservation. 
The  Connecticut  mill  floor  after  two  years  of 
service  under  a  light  load,  has  rotted  so 
badly  that  nineteen  floor  beams  have  had  to 
be  removed.  The  Egyptian  coffin-maker 
protected  his  wooden  coffin  from  the  attacks 
of  its  enemies.  Then  he  placed  it  in  a  stone 
sarcophagus  and  interred  it  in  a  dry  warm 
tomb  free  from  atmospheric  changes.  The 
Connecticut  manufacturer  did  nothing  to 
preserve  his  floor.  The  wood  was  not  care- 
fully inspected  before  it  was  placed  in  the 
building  and  was  probably  infected  with  a 
contagious  wood  disease.  For  two  years  it 
was  exposed  to  a  state  of  high  relative 
humidity  which  fostered  the  growth  of 
fungi.  And  at  the  end  of  that  time  his 
floor  was  gone. 

In  these  days  of  steel  and  concrete  con- 
struction, we  have  come  to  look  upon  wood 


Four 
thousand 
years  of 
service. 


First  cost  or   eventual  cost? 
Creolignum. 


The  wise   buyer  chooses 


num 


Wood  is 
durable. 


Extreme 
antiquity 
of  some 
wood. 


as  something  flimsy,  something  temporary, 
something  cheap.  When  we  build  for  per- 
manence, we  naturally  turn  away  from 
wood  and  employ  materials  seemingly  more 
substantial  and  durable.  Yet  there  are 
many  conditions  in  which  wood,  properly 
preserved,  will  outlast  steel ;  for  steel  has  its 
enemies  too,  against  which  it  cannot  always 
be  as  well  fortified  as  wood.  Steel  is  sub- 
ject to  attack  from  fumes  of  sulphur  and 
other  chemicals  that  materially  shorten  its 
life.  In  the  City  of  Pittsburgh,  steel  bridges 
and  buildings  are  frequently  eaten  away  by 
the  fumes  to  be  found  in  the  smoke  that 
often  settles  over  the  city;  and  the  pre- 
served wood  of  the  bridge  floors  actually 
requires  less  attention  and  gives  promise  of 
longer  life  than  the  structural  steel  itself. 
Wood  is  not  limited  to  temporary  use. 
Its  life  can  be  prolonged  almost  indefinitely. 
The  roof  beams  of  basilicas  at  Borne  have 
been  in  service  for  more  than  a  thousand 
years  in  a  place  where  they  have  been  kept 
perpetually  dry.  Constant  dryness  is  a  con- 
dition which  the  enemies  of  wood  cannot 
stand.  So,  too,  under  most  circumstances 
is  constant  wetness.  In  deep-shaft  boring 
foj  engineering  structures,  logs  have  been 
brought  up  to  the  surface  in  a  state  of  per- 
fect preservation.  These  logs  date  back  to 
the  glacial  period  and  are  about  as  old  as 


Where  a  good  trucking  surface  is  needed — Creolignum. 


1. — A      bridge 

floor    of    creo- 

soted    wood 

blocks 


2. — Laying  the 

blocks     on     a 

bridge    floor 


3  and  4. — Bridges  where  the 
creosoted  wood  blocks  of  the 
floor  give  promise  of  longer  fife 
and  require  less  care  ana  atten- 
tion than  the  structural  steel  of 
the  bridge  itself 


5. — A     creosoted     wood     block 
floor  on  a  lift  bridge 


num 


anything  can  be.  They  have  been  lying  in 
wet  earth  which  protected  them  from  the 
attack  of  fungi,  insects  and  other  enemies. 
In  the  early  days  of  Christianity,  Charle- 
magne built  a  bridge  across  the  Rhine,  and 
specimens  from  that  bridge  are  still  in 
good  condition.  Constant  wetness  dis- 
heartens the  enemies  of  wood  (unless  they 
are  marine-borers ! )  as  well  as  constant  dry- 
ness;  and  when  wood  is  protected  against 
the  attack  of  its  enemies  by  natural  or  by 
artificial  conditions,  it  will  last  long 
enough  for  almost  any  human  purpose. 

There  is  a  bridge  in  London  whose  pil- 
ings, constantly  under  the  water,  have  re- 
mained in  perfect  condition  over  six  hun- 
dred years.  There  is  a  dock  in  Texas  whose 
pilings  last  twenty-nine  days.  The  Thames 
is  free  from  that  most  dangerous  enemy  of 
wood,  the  marine-borer.  The  Gulf  of  Mex- 
ico is  literally  alive  with  marine-borers.  The 
London  piling  survives  because  these  en- 
emies of  wood  cannot  live  in  water  that  con- 
stantly surrounds  it.  The  Texas  piling  was 
destroyed  because,  surrounded  by  these  en- 
emies of  wood,  it  had  not  been  protected 
against  their  attack. 

If  the  wood  you  wish  to  use  in  construc- 
tion can  be  kept  perpetually  immersed  in 
water  where  marine-borers  do  not  exist,  or 
if  it  can  be  kept  perpetually  dry,  you  need 


A  com- 
parison 
in  the  life 
of  pilings. 


For  zones  of  quiet — Creolignum. 


no  artificial  protection  for  it.  If  it  is  sound 
in  the  beginning,  the  chances  are  that  it  will 
remain  so  for  an  indefinite  period.  But  un- 
fortunately such  conditions  are  infrequent 
among  our  innumerable  uses  for  structural 
timber.  Even  bridge  and  dock  pilings, 
where  not  subject  to  the  attack  of  marine- 
borers,  usually  wear  out  at  the  point  be- 
tween high  water  and  low.  With  the  vast 
majority  of  our  construction  we  must  face 
alternately  wet  and  dry  conditions.  It  is 
under  these  conditions,  favorable  to  the  wel- 
fare of  its  enemies,  that  wood  fails.  And  so 
alarmingly  has  it  failed  under  these  con- 
ditions that,  as  wood  or  labor  or  the  struc- 
ture grew  more  costly,  it  was  seen  to  be  a 
vital  need  to  preserve  wood  and  to  protect  it 
from  the  attack  of  these  enemies. 

Begin*  At  one  time  the  destruction  of  the  ships 

nings  of  of  the  English  Navy  by  dry-rot,  decay,  and 
woodpre-  marine-borers  became  so  great  that  it  took 
lon"  on  the  aspect  of  a  national  calamity.  It 
was  then  that  England  began  the  study  of 
the  preservation  of  wood.  About  the  same 
time  Holland  was  facing  an  equally  impor- 
tant question  in  the  preservation  of  her 
dikes.  Largely  built  and  supported  by  wood 
which  decayed  rapidly,  these  dikes  began  to 
require  so  much  repair  that  the  deforesta- 
tion of  Holland  was  threatened.  So  that 

To  make  plumbing  repairs  or  to  install  new  machinery, 
just   tear   up   a   few   blocks   of   CreoHgnum.     It   is   not 
8  "monolithic." 


(feolidmim 


The 

A  merican 
develop- 
ment. 


Prodigal 


tion  of 
wood. 


country,  too,  began  the  study  of  wood  pre- 
servation. 

In  America  as  in  England  and  Holland, 
the  development  of  wood  preservation  came 
tardily  and  as  a  distinct  necessity.  Hut  it 
proved  a  greater  necessity,  when  tin*  need 
was  finally  appreciated,  by  reason  of  the 
unparalleled  rapidity  with  which  the  coun- 
try and  its  business  had  expanded.  Orig- 
inally, wood  was  wasted  here  in  a  manner 
which  by  present  standards  seems  criminal. 
Yet  it  had  all  been  natural  enough  For- 
ests had  to  be  cut  down  for  farm  and  pas- 
ture land.  New  houses  had  to  be  built,  new 
communities  developed;  new  populations 
kept  arriving,  and  the  old  populations  kept 
pushing  westward  for  elbow  room.  Then 
when  our  civilization  was  quickened  first 
by  steam  and  afterwards  by  electricity,  the 
country  began  to  develop  at  a  perfectly 
prodigious  rate.  It  needed  railroads  and 
got  them  regardless  of  cost ;  it  needed  houses 
and  built  them  with  all  thought  for  speed 
and  no  thought  for  permanence;  it  needed 
mills,  barns,  fences,  telegraph  poles,  fac- 
tories, and  a  thousand  and  one  other  items 
made  necessary  to  a  rapidly  growing  and 
thriving  people.  All  this  meant  a  stupen- 
dous demand  for  wood.  Of  this  there  seemed 
an  inexhaustible  supply.  Even  fifty  years 
ago  the  waste  was  not  very  apparent,  for 


Floors  of  Creolignum  will  not  injure  dropped  tools. 


num 


Then  we 
awoke  to 
the 
danger. 


The 

disastrous 
results  of 
early  waste. 


waste  is  not  perceived  in  the  erection  of 
new  structures.  It  is  only  when  hastily 
built  structures  are  wearing  out  and  re- 
placement begins  that  waste  is  apparent. 
When  America  first  began  to  grow,  very 
little  wood  was  required  for  replacement 
purposes;  but  when  the  demand  for  wood 
was  no  longer  chiefly  for  new  construction, 
then  people  came  to  see  how  prodigal  they 
had  been  with  wood.  As  the  population  of 
the  country  began  to  catch  up  with  its  enor- 
mous natural  resources,  they  awoke  to  the 
fact  that  they  had  been  too  wasteful  in  the 
past  and  that  their  methods  of  lumbering 
had  meant  future  impoverishment.  The  big 
trees  had  been  cut  down  and  no  attempt  had 
been  made  at  reforestation,  no  trees  had 
anywhere  been  planted  to  take  the  place  of 
those  that  had  been  destroyed. 

We  cannot  blame  our  forbears  of  fifty 
years  ago  for  their  waste.  They  were  face 
to  face  with  the  urgency  of  immediate  de- 
velopment. They  had  necessarily  an  eye 
only  for  quick  results.  Their  seeming  neces- 
sity in  a  country  that  was  growing  so  rap- 
idly was  to  build  at  once,  with  little  thought 
for  the  coming  generations.  We  can  now 
see  with  new  eyes  what  harm  they  did. 
Hills  and  mountains  had  been  scraped  bare 
with  disastrous  results.  On  a  level  plain 


10 


Workmen   like  Creolignurn  floors — clean,  sanitary,  easy 
on  the  feet. 


trees  are  not  necessary  to  hold  the  soil  in 
place,  but  on  a  hillside  the  case  is  different. 
Hills  need  forest  cover.  When  the  trees  are 
gone,  the  soil  is  readily  washed  away  by  the 
rain,  with  the  result  that  bare  rock  and 
gravel  are  all  that  remain;  and  bare  rock 
and  gravel  will  not  hold  water.  -The  in- 
evitable result  of  the  destruction  of  forest 
cover  on  our  mountain  watersheds  is  that 
these  great  natural  reservoirs  instead  of 
surrendering  their  water  in  rivulets  almost 
constant  in  size  no  matter  what  the  season, 
give  up  their  water  as  soon  as  it  falls  upon 
them.  This  water  rushes  down  the  mountains 
in  devastating  freshets  and  floods  that  pile 
up  every  year  an  appalling  loss.  Scarcely  a 
spring  goes  by  but  we  read  the  harrowing 
story  of  floods  in  the  Ohio  Valley — caused 
by  the  wholesale  cutting  down  of  trees  in 
the  Appalachian  Mountains  years  and  years 
ago.  Nor  is  flood  the  only  damage.  In  a 
country  denuded  of  trees,  cyclones  get  their 
start;  and  the  destruction  caused  by  cy- 
clones every  year  is  exceeded  only  by  that 
of  flood  and  of  fire. 

The  need  for  the  preservation  of  our  for- 
ests brought  about  the  institution  of  the 
United  States  Forest  Service.  By  the  in- 
troduction of  better  lumbering  methods,  by 
taking  steps  compelling  reforestation,  by 
guarding  against  the  needless  waste  of  for- 


The  need 
for  forest 
cover. 


Floods 

and 

cyclones. 


Banish  the  dust  nuisance  with  Creolignum. 


11 


(reolijJmnn 


The  U.  S. 

Forest 

Service. 


A  national 
defect. 


est  fires,  and  by  the  constant  research  of 
its  scientists,  the  Forest  Service  has  gone 
a  long  way  toward  the  conservation  of  our 
forests  that  yet  remain.  This  was  the  seri- 
ous problem  which  the  Government  had  to 
solve  and  it  was  solved  by  the  regulations 
imposed  by  the  Forest  Service.  But  the 
Forest  Service  has  not  been  able  to  decrease 
materially  the  amount  of  wood  required  for 
replacement.  In  spite  of  all  our  building, 
by  far  the  greatest  quantity  of  wood  used 
today  is  not  for  original  structures  but  for 
replacement.  How  to  keep  down  this  neces- 
sary replacement  to  a  minimum?  That  is 
the  problem  not  of  the  Government  but  of 
the  people  of  the  United  States.  And  it  is 
to  be  solved  not  by  regulation  but  by  edu- 
cation. 

In  the  past  we  have  built  so  ephemerally, 
so  hastily,  with  an  eye  only  to  present  profit 
and  little  thought  of  future  necessity,  that 
our  need  of  lumber  for  replacement  is  now 
enormous.  During  the  war  an  officer  of  the 
French  Mission  while  traveling  through  one 
of  our  principal  cities  exclaimed,  "I  have 
never  seen  such  frail  houses!  One  single 
bomb  in  an  air  raid  would  do  untold  dam- 
age. The  very  concussion  of  the  explosion 
would  knock  down  such  flimsy  structures 
as  these.  America  does  not  build  for  the 


12 


Creolignum  is  made  and  sold  by  men  who  know  their 
business. 


(reolidnnin 


century  as  does  France."  It  is  time  now  for 
America  to  begin  to  build  for  the  century. 
It  is  time  for  Americans  to  find  out  that  it 
pays  to  do  so. 

This  is  not  merely  a  matter  of  individual 
economy.  It  is  a  problem  of  national  mag- 
nitude. Somehow,  by  some  method,  we  must 
decrease  our  consumption  of  wood ;  we  must 
conserve  our  forest  resources.  We  cannot 
accomplish  this  by  restricting  the  use  of 
wood  for  new  purposes  without  interfering 
very  materially  with  national  progress.  But 
we  can  curtail  the  use  of  wood  for  replace- 
ment. We  can  do  this  by  giving  every  piece 
of  structural  timber  a  longer  life  of  service. 

Europe  has  faced  the  same  problem  which 
we  are  now  called  upon  to  meet,  and  she  has 
grappled  with  it  successfully.  In  spite  of 
the  fact  that  new  buildings  and  new  struc- 
tures of  all  sorts  have  called  for  a  greatly 
increased  amount  of  wood,  the  quantity 
used  for  replacement  purposes  has  been  so 
lessened  by  wood-preservation  that  the  total 
drain  on  the  forests  has  rapidly  decreased 
and  their  future  is  now  assured.  Our  need 
for  conserving  the  forest  supply  is  much 
greater  than  was  hers.  For  we  were  more 
reckless  in  our  lumbering  than  she  ever  was. 
In  the  past,  too,  we  built  far  less  substan- 
tially; and  in  the  present  we  are  building 


Which 
calls  for  a 
national 
remedy. 


How 
Europe 
solved  her 
forest 
problem. 


Creolignum  blocks  take  the  wear  on  the  end  of  the  grain. 
That  is  why  they  last  so  well. 


13 


.inn 


The  need 
for 

antiseptic 
treatment. 


vastly  more  new  structures.  In  face  of  this 
constantly  increasing  need  of  timber  for 
new  and  old  structures,  we  can  solve  our 
problem  of  conserving  the  forests  only  in 
the  same  manner  as  Europe  did — by  the 
preservation  of  wood.  By  insuring  to  every 
piece  of  structural  timber  the  longest  life 
that  is  possible  to  its  mechanical  service. 

Timber  for  the  vast  majority  of  mechani- 
cal uses  is  not  durable  without  antiseptic 
treatment.  With  such  treatment  it  will  last 
indefinitely  or  until  the  mechanical  condi- 
tions of  its  service  alone  have  worn  it  out, 
It  is  our  desire  to  impress  upon  the  public  in 
general  the  national  necessity  for  making 
wood  durable.  With  this  end  in  view  this 

little  book  is  being  published. 

£>?-?.*, 

Vv:*  IT..-        M 
"*'>>• 

' 


14 


Length    of    life,    satisfaction,    low    cost  —  all    point    to 
Creolignum. 


1. — A  lungus 
plant  that  has 
eaten  away 
the  end  of  a 
mill  beam 


2. — A  giant 
loblolly  pine 
column  badly 
rotted  after 
three  years' 
service  in  a 
cotton  factory 


Reproduced  from  "Dry  Rot  in  Factory   Timber. 

By  permission  of  Inspection  Department  of  the  Associated  Factory 
Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Companies 


The  Enemies  of  Wood 

FOE  the  failure  of  wood  there  are  in  gen- 
eral five  large  underlying  causes.  They 
are  decay,  insects,  marine-borers,  mechan- 
ical abrasion,  and  fire.  Each  one  of  these 
causes  of  failure  may  be  guarded  against  by 
proper  preservation. 

Decay  is  a  germ  disease.  If  you  can  keep 
the  germ  out,  or  destroy  it  in  time,  you  pre- 
vent decay.  A  perfect  mammoth  was  found 
frozen  in.  the  ice  in  Siberia.  Its  body  would 
have  decayed  many  thousands  of  years  be- 
fore the  Christian  era  had  the  ice  not  ex- 
cluded the  germs.  Decay  in  wood  comes 
from  two  causes,  fungi  and  bacteria.  Both 
are  parasites  which  live  on  the  wood.  The 
chief  cause  of  decay  is  fungi.  These,  as  a 
rule,  are  of  two  sorts.  The  first  is  mush- 
room-like and  usually  is  not  very  destruc- 
tive. The  second  is  semi-circular  in  shape 
and  is  of  a  tough,  corky  substance.  This  is 
frequently  highly  destructive.  Fungi  re- 
produce rapidly  in  two  ways;  first,  sex- 
ually through  pores  in  the  same  manner  as 
ferns,  mosses,*  and  the  like;  second,  asex- 
ually  through  roots,  which  spread  very  rap- 
idly. The  process  of  decay  once  begun  moves 
very  swifty  until  the  wood  is  thoroughly 
rotted,  ifecay  is  not  a  chemical  action  like 

For  machine  shops — Creolignum  floors. 


Five 

causes  for 
the  failure 
of  wood. 


Decay 

germ 

disease. 


15 


(reolidnum 


How  fungi 
feed  and 
reproduce. 


Danger  in 
high 
relative 
humidity. 


the  rusting  of  iron.  It  is  a  direct  attack 
upon  the  substance  of  the  wood  by  these 
plants  which  feed  upon  it. 

When  fungi  feed  upon  wood,  they  burrow 
into  it.  If  you  were  to  take  off  a  fungus 
from  a  timber  upon  which  it  is  growing  and 
study  the  mark  that  is  made  there,  you 
would  find  a  bright  clean  new  outline  of  the 
fungus  itself,  but  in  a  short  time  after  ex- 
posure to  the  air,  it  would  turn  brown,  dry, 
and  powdery,  and  would  lose  all  its  strength 
and  substance.  A  single  fungus  produces 
many  millions  of  spores,  which  are  carried 
a  long  distance  in  the  air,  and  wherever 
they  find  lumber  they  fix  themselves  upon  it 
and  develop  new  growths.  A  single  dis- 
eased beam  may  rot  the  wood  in  an  entire 
lumber-yard.  This  is  especially  true  of  the 
wood  near  the  ground  where  lumber  is 
stacked  high.  As  a  consequence,  many 
lumber-yards  are  putting  in  concrete  sup- 
ports for  the  piles  of  timber.  Fungi  thrive 
best  in  a  place  where  the  humidity  or  mois- 
ture content  of  the  air  at  any  temperature 
is  high  as  compared  with  the  humidity  re- 
quired for  saturation  at  that  temperature. 
This  dry-rot,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  at- 
tacks very  vigorously  the  floor  beams  and 
the  roof  beams  of  cotton  mills,  worsted 
mills,  paper  mills,  and  the  like,  where  the 
temperature  is  kept  down  but  moisture  is 


16 


For  loading  platforms — Creolignum  floors. 


not.  The  lumber  never  has  a  chance  to  dry 
out  thoroughly,  and  it  is  in  half  dampness 
of  this  sort  that  fungi  flourish  and  reproduce 
most  rapidly.  Eailroad  ties  that  run  along 
swampy  ground  decay  very  much  more 
rapidly  than  ties  that  are  laid  across  a 
desert.  Masts  decay  at  the  deck-line  or  just 
below  it,  where  the  accumulated  moisture 
from  rain  and  spray  leaks  down  into  the 
deck  and  is  caught  there.  The  Greeks  and 
Komans  used  stone  bases  and  capitals  for 
their  wooden  pillars  to  protect  them  from 
the  decay  that  set  in  around  the  damper  base 
and  under  the  roof.  Many  people  make  the 
mistake  of  partially  preserving  the  wood 
after  decay  has  set  in.  To  paint  a  timber 
whose  interior  has  been  severely  attacked 
by  fungi,  or  to  give  it  a  mere  surface  treat- 
ment of  creosote  or  some  other  preservative, 
is  to  invite  trouble ;  for  not  only  does  it  lend 
a  sound  appearance  to  an  unsound  piece  of 
timber,  but  the  surface  preservation  keeps 
the  moisture  in  and  thereby  accelerates  the 
decay.  There  is  only  one  way  to  fight  decay. 
First,  examine  all  timber  thoroughly  to  see 
whether  or  not  there  is  a  serious  infection. 
Second,  treat  the  wood  thoroughly  by  im- 
pregnation process  with  some  good  preserv- 
ative, preferably  creosote  oil.  Any  engineer 
will  tell  you  that  it  is  not  always  possible 

Railroad  ties  treated  under  Creolignum  standards  will 
give  the  longest  service. 


How  half" 
dampness 
fosters 
decay. 


A  method 
of  pre- 
servation 
that 
invites 
trouble. 


17 


num 


Insects. 


The 
Powder 
Post 
Insect. 


to  detect  incipient  decay,  and  that  the  only 
absolute  safety  is  impregnation. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  the  annual 
loss  from  insects  boring  into  and  destroying 
sound  timber  is  about  f  100,000,000. 

There  are  chiefly  three  types  of  insects 
that  attack  timber — round-headed  borers, 
timber  worms,  and  ambrosia  beetles.  They 
seem  to  delight  particularly  in  attacking 
wood  with  its  bark  on.  You  will  recall  the 
curious  winding  holes  that  they  make  in  log 
cabins  and  rustic  furniture.  Precisely 
these  holes  are  made  in  larger  and  more 
important  pieces  of  timber  and  they  not 
only  weaken  the  wood,  sometimes  very  seri- 
ously, but  lay  it  open  to  attack  from  mois- 
ture and  from  fungi.  One  of  the  most  de- 
structive insects  is  called  the  Powder  Post. 
These  little  creatures  have  a  perfect  passion 
for  telegraph  poles.  They  work  their  way 
along  the  ground  until  they  find  a  nice, 
sound,  healthy  pole ;  then  they  bore  their  way 
into  the  heart  of  it.  The  interior  of  a  tele- 
graph pole  is  a  fine  dry,  safe  place  in  which 
to  lay  their  eggs;  so  they  lay  them — thou- 
sands of  them.  Finally  the  eggs  hatch  and 
each  little  larva  feeds  upon  the  timber.  Each 
larva  bores  a  long  tunnel  in  a  different  di- 
rection from  his  brothers  and  when  he  has 
grown  sufficiently  fat  on  the  sound  wood  of 
the  telegraph  pole,  he  lies  down  and  sleeps 


18 


Creolignum  resists  dry  rot. 


of  quiet 
paved  with  creo- 
soted  wood  blocks 


1.— Zone    of    quiet 
near    a    church 


2  — Pavement       in 
front     of      Cincin- 
ati    General    Hos- 
pital 


3  _ X  e  a  r  the 
Avon  dale  High 
School,  Cincinnati 


num 


awhile  in  the  shape  of  a  pupa.  After  a  time, 
he  knocks  off  his  outer  shell  and  graduates 
as  a  fully  grown  insect.  Then  he  bores  his  way 
out  again  through  the  wood  of  the  pole  into 
the  sunshine.  In  the  meantime,  his  brother 
bugs  have  been  doing  the  same  thing;  and 
when  the  family  has  grown  up,  the  tele- 
graph pole  is  riddled  with  their  galleries. 
It  would  not  be  so  bad  if  it  stopped  there; 
but  these  now  mature  insects  come  back  to 
the  pole  to  lay  their  eggs.  Two  or  three 
generations  of  this  activity  will  completely 
powder  any  telegraph  pole  or  other  piece  of 
timber.  The  Pole  Borer  is  another  insect  of 
equally  destructive  propensities.  About  the 
only  difference  is  that  the  adult  beetle  lays 
its  eggs  on  the  outer  layer  of  the  wood  and 
the  larva  when  it  is  hatched  bores  into  the 
center.  Altogether  the  appetite  of  these 
land  borers  is  hugely  destructive,  and  the 
best  protection  against  them  is  by  treating 
the  wood  to  render  it  unpalatable  to  the 
insects.  This  is  done  by  a  wood  preserva- 
tive in  the  same  manner  in  which  wood  is 
preserved  against  decay. 

The  piling  of  docks,  break-waters,  bridges, 
and  the  like,  and  the  timbers  of  ships  are 
open  to  the  attack  of  three  types  of  ship- 
worms  called  the  Xylotrya,  Nausitoria,  and 
Teredo.  These  ship-worms  sometimes  grow 
to  be  as  much  as  six  feet  long.  Usually, 


The  Pole 
Borer. 


Ship- 
worms. 


For  steel  mills — floors  of  Creolignum. 


19 


mini 


Creosote — 
the  only 
preserva- 
tive 

effective 
against 
ship 
worms. 


however,  they  are  only  about  five  inches 
long.  A  single  worm  will  live  for  many 
years.  They  are  terribly  destructive.  In 
general,  these  marine  borers  live  in  warm 
water.  They  are  to  be  found  largely  in  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  from  the  Chesapeake  Bay 
south,  and  on  the  whole  Pacific  Coast.  They 
reproduce  very  rapidly.  A  boat-load  of 
them  can  appear  apparently  from  nowhere 
in  a  single  night.  They  need  real  sea-water 
and  cannot  survive  brackish,  fresh  or  turbid 
water.  On  the  Pacific  Coast  they  are  so 
destructive  that  the  life  of  an  average  pile 
is  about  one  to  three  years.  A  single  worm 
will  live  for  many  years. 

Marine  borers  absolutely  riddle  the  tim- 
ber which  they  attack;  and  where  they 
abound,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  a 
wood  preservative  that  is  effective  against 
them.  The  best  preservative  is  creosote  oil 
heavily  forced  into  the  piling.  Large  quan- 
tities of  the  oil  must  be  used,  however  ( from 
18  to  24  pounds  per  cubic  foot),  as  it  is 
necessary  to  inject  every  cell  of  the  wood 
very  heavily  with  the  oil  in  order  to  with- 
stand the  attacks  of  the  borers.  Creosote 
oil  is  practically  the  only  preservative  that 
can  be  used  for  protection  against  marine 
borers  inasmuch  as  it  is  the  only  preserva- 
tive that  is  not  soluble  in  water. 

Just  what  part  of  all  the  wood  in  use  is 


20 


Wo   dan  per  oils   splinters   with  Creolignum. 


destroyed  by  mechanical  abrasion  is  very 
difficult  to  estimate.  It  is  probably  the 
cause  of  the  loss  of  most  mine  props.  Al- 
though decay  here  is  very  active,  neverthe- 
less the  "squeeze"  of  the  earth  is  much  more 
destructive.  As  for  railroad  ties,  it  is  esti- 
mated that  at  least  fifteen  per  cent,  are  de- 
stroyed by  the  cut  of  the  rails  under  the 
weight  of  the  passing  trains. 

Kailroad  ties  can  be  very  considerably 
protected  from  mechanical  abrasion  by 
fairly  simple  means.  Tie-plates  can  be  used 
which  absorb  the  grinding  action  of  the  rail 
and  distribute  the  weight  of  the  train  over  a 
larger  surface  of  the  tie ;  holes  can  be  drilled 
and  spikes  employed  which  will  follow  the 
holes  exactly ;  spikes  instead  of  being  driven 
can  be  machine-screwed  as  is  the  practice  in 
Europe;  S-irons  can  be  used  to  prevent  the 
spreading  of  cracks  and  checks.  Yet,  decay 
apart,  all  these  devices  will  but  defer  the 
day  when  the  tie  must  eventually  fail 
through  mechanical  wear  and  tear.  No  rail- 
road tie  can  escape  wearing  out  in  service. 

Loss  through  mechanical  failure  and  loss 
through  decay  are,  however,  very  closely 
united.  When  a  piece  of  timber  has  started 
to  decay,  it  is  very  easily  destroyed  by  me- 
chanical action  which  would  not  affect  a 
sound  piece  of  timber.  Conditions  of  decay 
that  would  not  affect  ordinary  timber  be- 


Mcchani- 

cal 

abrasion. 


Tie-plates, 
screw- 
spikes  and 
S-irons. 


The  rela- 
tion 

between 
decay  and 
abrasion. 


For  busy  streets — Creolignum  street  paving  blocks. 


21 


nmn 


The  waste- 
fulness of 
over-pre- 
servation. 


come  very  active  when  that  timber  has  been 
scarred  by  some  mechanical  means.  A  rail- 
road tie  treated  with  a  medium  impregna- 
tion of  creosote  will  resist  all  decay.  If, 
however,  the  track  hand  is  careless  in  driv- 
ing the  spikes  and  splits  the  tie,  permitting 
moisture  to  collect  in  the  crack  below  the 
coating,  of  creosote,  the  decay  of  that  tie  is 
very  rapid.  Therefore  it  will  be  apparent  at 
once  that  if  any  timber  is  subject  to  mechan- 
ical abrasion  or  splitting,  its  impregnation 
with  a  preservative  must  be  thorough  and 
complete  and  must  reach  well  into  the  wood. 
Otherwise  the  abrasion  would  lay  bare  the 
unpreserved  center,  and  the  superficial 
treating  of  the  outer  portions  of  the  wood 
would  become  a  danger  rather  than  a  pro- 
tection inasmuch  as  it  would  keep  in  the 
moisture  and  would  hasten  decay. 

It  will  also  be  apparent  at  once,  from 
this  illustration  of  railroad  ties,  that  it  is 
not  sound  economy  to  preserve  wood  beyond 
the  life  allowed  it  by  mechanical  causes.  If 
because  of  conditions  of  service,  a  certain 
tie  is  bound  to  go  to  pieces  in  ten  years, 
preserving  that  tie  for  twenty  or  thirty 
years  is  obvious  waste.  But  the  science  of 
creosoting  has  been  developed  to  such  a 
point  that  it  is  possible  to  preserve  wood 
for  a  fairly  definite  length  of  time  by 
some  one  of  the  processes  to  be  discussed 


22 


Creolignum  is  distinctly  a  fire  retardant. 


1. — Creosoted      ties. 

Note    the    S-irons    that 

prevent    the    spread    of 

checking 


2. — Creosoted  ties  beneath  the  rails  and  piled  along  the  rightway 
3. — Untreated  ties  piled  for  seasoning  before  treatment 


(geolidiium 


later.  Therefore  care  should  be  taken  to  de- 
termine as  accurately  as  possible,  first,  what 
is  the  mechanical  life  which  can  possibly  be 
obtained  from  any  piece  of  timber.  That 
determined,  it  is  easy  then  to  protect  the 
timber  against  decay,  insects  or  marine 
borers,  as  the  case  may  be.  This  is  a  prob- 
lem of  engineering  and  preserved  timber 
should  be  engineered  for  the  special  purpose 
for  which  it  is  to  be  applied.  It  is  not  wis- 
dom or  economy  to  buy  it  ready-made  or  to 
conclude  that  specifications  which  result  in 
properly  preserved  wood  for  one  purpose 
are  right  for  another  condition  or  situation. 

Loss  from  fire  is  the  great  American  Loss  from 
shame.  It  has  been  estimated  that  the  an-  fire. 
nual  loss  in  the  United  States  is  $215,- 
000,000.  Our  national  awakening  to  this 
needless  and  preventable  destruction  was  as 
tardy  as  the  national  awakening  to  our 
needless  and  preventable  consumption  of 
wood  in  other  ways.  The  efforts  that  are 
now  being  made  at  fire  prevention,  the  use 
of  sprinkler  systems,  extinguishers,  and 
non-inflammable  roofs,  have  gone  a  long 
way  toward  keeping  this  figure  from  mount- 
ing much  higher. 

One  cannot  render  wood  fire-proof  with- 
out destroying  so  many  of  its  virtues  that 
for  general  building  purposes  it  becomes  im- 

Excessive  preservation  is  waste — of  a  different  kind  per- 
haps— but  waste  just  the  same.  23 


(reolixfeium 


Decay — 
the  hand- 
maiden of 
fire. 


An  au- 
thoritative 
warning 
against 
"mill  con- 
struction." 


practical;  and  the  use  of  an  inflammatory 
material  to  preserve  it  would  certainly  seem 
offhand  to  increase  the  danger  from  fire. 
Nevertheless,  the  case  is  just  the  contrary. 
A  wood  preservative  affords  both  an  indi- 
rect and  a  direct  protection  against  the 
enemy  of  wood  least  to  be  guarded  against 
by  human  ingenuity  because  the  one  most 
assisted  by  human  heedlessness.  There  is 
a  close  relationship  between  fire  and  decay. 
Decay  in  wood  ignites  more  quickly  and 
burns  more  readily  than  sound  timber. 
There  could  be  no  more  emphatic  testimony 
to  this  than  was  provided  by  the  Associated 
Factory  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Companies 
in  a  book  published  in  1915.  They  warned 
their  members  against  decay  and  made  a 
very  significant  statement.  For  fifty  years, 
they  say,  they  have  been  sponsors  for  the 
slow-burning  or  mill  construction  flooring. 
These  floors  are  made  of  heavy  timbers  set 
up  edge- wise  and  spiked  together.  The  rea- 
son they  burn  very  slowly  is  because  only 
the  surface  can  catch  fire,  and  they  are  so 
tightly  laminated  together  that  they  exclude 
oxygen.  Yet  what  is  gained  in  one  way  the 
insurance  people  find  is  lost  in  another. 
"The  economy  and  integrity  of  this  excel- 
lent type  of  building  is  threatened  by  the 
remarkable  increase  of  the  prevalence  of 


24 


Decay   is   more   dangerous   and   more   costly   than   fire. 
Resist  it  with  Creolignum. 


dry-rot  during  the  last  few  years.  Wood 
infected  by  dry-rot  ignites  more  easily  than 
sound  wood,  and  mill  timbers  with  rotted 
ends  fall  more  quickly  under  fire."  These 
fire  experts,  then,  go  so  far  as  to  imply  that 
the  danger  from  decay  after  fire  is  started 
so  nearly  equals  the  danger  from  fire  in  the 
first  instance  that  it  becomes  a  toss-up  to 
decide  which  should  be  the  more  guarded 
against.  It  is  the  slow  burning  mill  con- 
struction contrived  as  a  protection  against 
fire  that  invites  and  forces  the  spread  of 
decay.  Decay-proof  and  almost  equally  fire 
resistant,  treated  timber  becomes  more 
"slow-burning"  than  untreated  mill  con- 
struction with  the  danger  of  decay  ever 
present. 

This  construction  is  "slow-burning"  be- 
cause the  air  is  excluded.  When  wood  is 
injected  with  creosote,  the  air  is  likewise  ex- 
cluded because  the  creosote  has  filled  up  all 
the  cells  of  the  wood;  and  thus  the  timber 
becomes  about  equally  fire-resistant.  Wood 
freshly  creosoted,  it  is  true,  ignites  more 
easily  than  untreated  sound  wood ;  but  wood 
that  has  undergone  the  correct  creosoted 
treatment  for  the  purpose,  and  has  been  air- 
seasoned  afterwards,  ignites  less  easily  than 
untreated  sound  wood,  and  when  finally  ig- 
nited burns  far  more  slowly.  The  surface 


How 
Creosote 
becomes  a 
fire- 
retardant. 


Creolignum — the  surest  safeguard  against  the  enemies  of 
wood. 


25 


raum 


does  not  catch  as  easily,  and  when  it  does 
catch,  the  creosote  in  the  wood  acts  pre- 
cisely as  oil  does  in  a  wick — it  burns  for 
a  long  time  without  consuming  its  con- 
tainer. There  could  be  no  more  emphatic 
testimony  to  these  two  surprising  facts 
than  that  provided  by  the  Jacksonville  fire. 
Creosoted  telephone  poles  were  found  stand- 
ing in  good  condition  when  all  the  buildings 
around  them  were  smouldering  heaps;  and 
creosoted  docks  were  found  to  be  still  in 
flames  (and  the  flames  were  easily  extin- 
guished) when  their  untreated  next-neigh- 
bors had  been  entirely  destroyed.  The  rea- 
son fire  is  more  easily  extinguished  in  creo- 
soted than  untreated  timber  is  because  it 
nibbles  out  all  the  oil  with  which  the  wood 
is  impregnated  before  it  devours  the  solid 
timber. 


Like  oil  in 
a  wick. 


The 

Creosote 
poles  in 
the  Jack- 
sonville 
fire. 


Creosote — 
the  most 
useful 
remedy  in 
all  cases. 


These,  then,  are  the  five  chief  causes  of  the 
failure  of  wood — decay,  insects,  marine 
borers,  mechanical  abrasion,  and  fire.  They 
may  be  all  guarded  against  by  the  use  of  an 
effective  wood  preservative.  Creosoting 
timber  will  absolutely  prevent  the  attack  of 
the  first  two  of  these  enemies — decay  and 
insects;  it  will  enable  timber  to  resist,  in 
varying  degrees,  the  remaining  three  of  its 
enemies  whenever  they  are  present.  It 
greatly  prolongs  the  life  of  wood  exposed  to 


26 


There    is    small    economy    in   floors    that   "outlast* 
factory. 


the 


1,  2  and  3.— 
Creosoted  wood 
block  floors  in 
the  Follansbee 
Tin  Plate  Co., 
Follansbee,  W. 
Va.  These  floors 
must  withstand 
the  wear  and 
tear  of  heavy 
trucking 


(reoli^num 


marine  borers;  it  makes  wood  more  resist- 
ant of  mechanical  abrasion;  it  makes  wood 
as  resistant  of  fire  as  any  other  expedient 
yet  invented  which  protects  without  harm- 
ful results.  No  treatment  can  defy  perma- 
nently the  last  three  of  these  ravagers;  but 
the  first  two  can  be  absolutely  prevented, 
and  these  render  the  attacks  of  the  last  two 
more  fatal.  For  these  enemies  of  wood  are 
allies  and  play  into  each  others'  hands.  The 
destruction  caused  by  insects,  by  marine 
borers,  by  mechanical  abrasion  lays  the  way 
open  to  attack  from  fungi  and  the  bacteria 
we  call  decay;  and  decay  increases  the  de- 
struction of  mechanical  abrasion  and  fire. 
In  human  disease  an  ounce  of  prevention  is 
said  to  be  worth  more  than  a  pound  of  cure ; 
and  when  there  is  no  cure  for  a  disease, 
prevention  is  all  the  more  valuable.  Decay 
is  not  the  root  of  all  evil  in  wood,  but, 
deadly  in  itself,  it  multiplies  the  danger  of 
all  the  others.  When  the  bodily  health  is 
broken  down,  the  body  is  more  exposed  to 
assault  from  without;  when  decay  has  be- 
gun in  timber,  mechanical  abrasion  and  fire 
more  easily  gain  a  foothold  and  their  rav- 
ages are  more  rapid  and  complete.  It  is 
safe  to  say,  then,  that  impregnation  with 
creosote  oil  is  the  most  important  preven-  prevent 
tion  against  all  the  enemies  of  wood.  tion. 

Creolignum  creosoted  yellow  pine  cross  arms  will  resist 

decay  indefinitely.  27 


num 


How  Wood  Is  Preserved 


Superficial 
preserva- 
tion. 


28 


preservation  may  be  divided  into 
two  general  classes.  These  are  superfi- 
cial preservation  and  impregnation  preser- 
vation. 

Superficial  preservation  protects  the  sur- 
face of  the  wood  only.  It  does  not  get  down 
into  the  interior.  Yet  in  some  situations 
superficial  treatment  is  the  only  practical 
kind,  since  it  is  all  that  is  necessary.  But 
before  such  treatment  is  decided  upon,  it  is 
of  utmost  importance  to  determine  two 
things.  First,  is  the  wood  sound?  Timber 
that  has  incipient  decay  on  the  inside  should 
not  be  used  at  all,  in  cases  where  labor  and 
renewal  have  any  economic  value  whatever, 
and  certainly  it  should  never  receive  super- 
ficial protection.  Decay  once  started  inside 
goes  on  at  a  much  accelerated  pace  since 
the  superficial  protection  prevents  the  tim- 
ber from  drying  out.  Second,  will  the  wood 
when  in  use  be  free  from  mechanical  abra- 
sion? If  not,  superficial  treatment  is  waste- 
ful. It  protects  the  outside  only,  and  as 

Creolignum  —  the  name,  not  only  of  a  definite  product, 
but  of  the  engineering  services  that  adapt  it  to  its  user's 
needs. 


(reoliffii 


ran 


soon  as  the  protected  layer  is  worn  through, 
decay  will  begin.  If  wood  is  sound  and  not 
exposed  to  abrasion,  superficial  treatment  is 
both  inexpensive  and  useful.  In  general, 
there  are  three  kinds ;  charring,  brush  treat- 
ment and  dipping. 

Perhaps  the  oldest  of  preservation  meth- 
ods is  charring.  If  we  go  back  to  early 
classical  days,  we  find  that  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  charred  their  structural  timber  to 
stave  off  decay.  Fungi  do  not  attack  char- 
coal, and  timber  coated  for  one-eighth  to 
one-half  an  inch  with  a  cylinder  of  its  own 
charcoal  will  resist  attack  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent. Charring  is  not  much  protection, 
however,  and  it  very  materially  weakens  the 
wood.  If  wood  to  be  charred  is  not  first  sea- 
soned thoroughly,  it  is  very  likely  to  check. 
In  that  case  the  charring  is  useless. 

Brush  treatment  is  somewhat  more  effec- 
tive than  charring  and,  although  a  trifle 
more  expensive,  affords  a  cheap  and  easy 
method  of  protection.  The  preservative  is 
applied  with  a  brush  just  as  one  would 
paint.  Any  preservative  may  be  used.  A 
wood-preserving  oil  is  the  best,  but  paint  or 
kalsomine  serves  its  purpose  well.  Wood 
that  is  to  be  brush-treated  should  be  thor- 
oughly seasoned,  as  green  wood  cannot  be 
protected  by  such  a  method.  The  wood 


Charring, 


Brush 
treatment. 


Creolignum  is  manufactured  where  the  best  pine  grows. 
No  unnecessary  freight  bills  to  add  to  the  price. 


29 


Dipping. 


Impregna- 
tion pre- 
servation. 


must  be  dry ;  it  must  not  be  frozen ;  and  care 
must  be  taken  to  cover  every  check  and 
crack.  If  creosote  oil  is  used  (and  it  is  the 
best  for  brush  treating),  it  should  be  heated 
to  180  to  200  degrees  Fahrenheit  for  better 
penetration. 

Dipping  is  the  best  of  all  superficial  treat- 
ments. In  no  other  way  can  you  be  sure  of 
covering  the  entire  surface,  getting  down 
into  all  the  cracks  and  wrinkles.  But  dip- 
ping is  subject  to  great  handicaps.  In  the 
first  place,  it  is  very  hard  to  get  a  tank  large 
enough  to  dip  the  telegraph  poles  and  other 
timbers  that  are  usually  given  superficial 
treatment.  But  where  such  a  tank  is  ob- 
tainable, it  is  much  better  than  other  sur- 
face treatments.  If  creosote  oil  is  used, 
it  should  be  heated  to  the  same  temperature 
as  for  brush  treatment.  This,  however,  adds 
considerably  to  the  expense,  as  a  large  part 
of  the  oil  evaporates. 

Impregnation  methods  may  be  distin- 
guished from  the  superficial  methods  by  the 
fact  that  they  force  the  preservative  deeply 
into  the  wood.  Some  of  them  are  so  effi- 
cient that  with  suitable  woods  the  preserva- 
tive can  be  driven  into  every  cell  so  that 
even  if  the  surface  is  cracked  or  scarred  the 
inside  of  the  wood  is  just  as  able  to  resist 
decay  as  the  outside.  Impregnation  is  con- 


30 


The  right  wood  and  the  right  treatment  for  the  specific 
need. 


1. — A   zone  of  quiet  near  a  court  house  where  traffic  is  heavy. 
Creosoted  wood  blocks  were  used 

2. —  Because  Creolignum  Wood  Blocks  wear  so  well  and  because 
they  are  so  smooth  and  quiet,  they  are  used  in  streets  like  this. 

3. — Creosoted  wood  block  paving  in  business  street  under  heavy 
concentrated  traffic 


(reoliffimm 


Pressure 
and  non- 
pressure 
methods. 


siderably  more  expensive  than  any  of  the 
superficial  treatments,  but  it  is  so  much 
more  effective  that  in  most  cases  where 
wood  is  subject  to  the  attack  of  any  of  its 
enemies  the  impregnation  processes  must 
be  used  to  obtain  satisfactory  results. 

In  the  main,  there  are  in  general  use  two 
methods  of  impregnation:  a  process  which 
operates  at  high  pressure  and  forces  the  pre- 
servative deeply  into  the  wood,  and  a  pro- 
cess which  operates  at  atmospheric  pressure 
only.  There  are  three  preservatives  in  gen- 
eral use:  zinc  chloride,  mercuric  chloride, 
and  creosote  oil.  Zinc  chloride  and  mer- 
curic chloride  are  not  adaptable  to  every 
use,  as  they  are  salts  soluble  in  water,  and 
of  no  value  in  swampy  land,  for  marine  pur- 
poses, etc.  Mercuric  chloride  has  an  addi- 
tional drawback.  It  is  very  dangerous 
when  used  in  situations  where  it  can  be 
licked  by  cattle  and  other  animals.  After 
wood  preserved  by  mercuric  chloride  has 
been  in  service  for  a  time,  the  preservative 
leaches  out  and  forms  in  crystals  over  the 
surface.  These  crystals  are  deadly  poison 
and  are  very  attractive  to  animals. 

The  three  processes  in  general  use  that  do 
not  depend  chiefly  upon  creosote  are  the 
Burnettizing  process,  the  Card  process,  and 
the  Kyanizing  process. 


Three  Pre- 
servatives. 


Buy  enough  preservation  to  be  economical,  but  not  so 
much  as  to  be  extravagant.  Creolignum  is  made  to  order. 


31 


num 


Burnett-  Burnettizing  or  zinc  chloride  process  im- 

izmg.  pregnates  the  timber  with  a  water  solution 

of  zinc  chloride  under  pressure.  Zinc  chlor- 
ide is  ordinarily  a  cheap  and  fairly  strong 
preservative.  It  is  a  good  method  for  pre- 
serving railroad  ties  where  the  mechanical 
life  is  limited  to  only  about  twelve  years. 
The  Card  The  Card  process  is  a  pressure  treatment 
Process.  very  much  like  Burnettizing.  Only  instead 
of  using  pure  zinc  chloride,  it  mixes  the 
zinc  chloride  with  creosote  oil.  This  process 
is  more  expensive  than  Burnettizing,  but 
cheaper  than  pure  creosote  processes,  inas- 
much as  creosote  oil  costs  more  than  zinc 
chloride.  It  is  not  so  strong  as  pure  creo- 
sote oil,  however,  but  where  a  shorter  life 
is  required  it  is  a  cheap  and  effective  pre- 
servative. 

Kyanizing.  The  Kyanizing  process  is  not  used  very 
extensively.  It  consists  of  a  pressure  treat- 
ment with  mercuric  chloride,  and  is  carried 
on  in  tanks  of  solid  granite  as  mercuric 
chloride  is  too  corrosive  for  use  with  steel 
or  iron.  It  is  a  very  effective  preservative, 
but  is  very  expensive  and  it  has  the  draw- 
back of  using  mercuric  chloride,  which  is 
not  only  dangerous  to  animals  but  is  very 
difficult  to  handle.  The  process  is  long  and 
tedious,  as  the  timber  must  be  steeped  under 
pressure  in  the  solution  for  a  period  lasting 

There  is  no  reason  why  a  floor  should  not  last  as  long 
32  as  the  rest  of  the  building. 


;ntim 


from  three  to  seven  days.  Even  then  but  a 
slight  penetration  is  obtained,  as  the  pre- 
servative enters  only  one-tenth  to  one-quar- 
ter of  an  inch. 

Creosote  oil  is  the  preservative  used  in 
the  great  majority  of  cases  with  wood.  It 
should  correctly  be  called  tar  oil,  but  com- 
mercial usage  has  given  it  the  name  creosote 
oil.  It  is  the  most  satisfactory  preservative 
and  the  one  most  adaptable  to  general  use. 
There  are  today  in  general  commercial  use 
three  methods  of  preserving  wood  by  the 
use  of  creosote  oil.  They  are  all  impregna- 
tion processes,  and  they  have  arisen  from 
the  numerous  different  problems  of  wood 
preservation.  They  are  the  Open  Tank 
process,  the  Bethel  or  full  cell  process,  and 
the  Rueping  or  empty  cell  process. 

The  Open  Tank  method  operates  at  at- 
mospheric pressure  only.  A  bath  of  hot 
creosote  oil  is  prepared  in  an  open  tank. 
Beside  it  is  prepared  another  bath  of  cold 
oil.  The  wood  is  immersed  first  in  the  hot 
oil.  This  rarifies  it  and  drives  out  the  air, 
sap  and  water.  The  oil  does  not  penetrate 
very  far  when  it  is  heated  thus,  but  when 
the  hot  wood  is  drawn  out  of  this  bath  and 
quickly  plunged  into  the  other  bath  of  cold 
creosote,  the  air  in  the  cells  of  the  wood 
contracts,  sucking  in  the  oil  to  a  very  good 


The 

Creosote 

Processes. 


The  Open 

Tank 

Process. 


Preservation  of  natural  resources  means  the  co-operation 
of  everyone.     Play  your  part. 


33 


penetration.  The  wood  should  be  seasoned 
thoroughly  first  in  order  to  obtain  the  best 
results.  The  depth  of  the  penetration  can 
be  controlled  very  well  by  regulating  the 
temperature  of  the  tank.  In  no  case  should 
the  oil  in  the  hot  oil  tank  ever  be  allowed  to 
get  above  250°  Fahrenheit,  as  it  is  then 
likely  to  injure  the  wood.  The  wood  should 
be  kept  from  one  to  three  hours  in  each 
bath.  The  Open  Tank  method  is  a  fairly 
effective  preserving  process.  It  works-  very 
well  on  large  unwieldy  timbers,  fence  posts, 
and  telegraph  poles,  and  is  particularly  val- 
uable where  it  is  desired  to  treat  part  of  a 
pole,  as  in  the  butt  treatment  of  telegraph 
poles.  The  two  drawbacks  to  this  treatment 
are  first  that  it  is  very  wasteful  of  creosote 
oil  inasmuch  as  a  large  quantity  of  it  evap- 
orates, and  second  that  the  penetration,  al- 
though good,  is  sometimes  not  sufficient  for 
complete  protection. 

The  Full  The  Bethel  or  full  cell  process  is  one  of 

Cell  the  best  preserving  methods.    Where  green 

Process.         timber  is  used,  it  must  first  have  a  bath  of 

live  steam  of  several  hours  in  order  to  open 

the  cells  for  proper  treatment. 

The  timber  is  piled  into  small  cars  or  bug- 
gies which  run  upon  tracks  into  cylinders. 
These  cylinders  have  a  diameter  of  from  6  to 

A  knowledge  of  wood  preserving  begins  with  a  knowL 
edge  of  wood.     No  mere  superficial  study  will  qualify 
34  a  wood  preserver. 


7  feet  and  are  from  50  to  180  feet  in  length. 
When  the  timber  is  in  place,  the  cylinder  is 
closed  airtight  by  means  of  a  large  circular 
door,  then  a  vacuum  is  drawn  and  held  at 
least  one  hour.  This  vacuum  draws  out  all 
the  surplus  sap  and  air  in  the  wood  and 
leaves  the  cells  empty.  It  might  almost  be 
said  that  the  wood  resembles  a  sponge  that 
has  been  squeezed  and  is  ready  to  soak  up 
anything  with  which  it  comes  in  contact. 
Creosote  oil  is  then  pumped  into  the  cylin- 
der and  a  pressure  of  100  to  180  pounds  is 
applied.  The  pressure  forces  the  creosote 
oil  into  the  cells  so  that  it  penetrates  thor- 
oughly. Then  the  excess  oil  is  drained  from 
the  cylinder  and  the  timber  is  allowed  to 
drain.  The  Full  Cell  Process  is  expensive, 
for  it  uses  a  great  deal  of  creosote.  It  is 
the  chief  means  of  protecting  piling  against 
marine-borers,  as  a  large  amount  of  creosote 
is  required  to  keep  them  away.  It  is  also 
efficient  for  street  paving  blocks.  But  for 
some  purposes  the  oil  used  in  so  great  quan- 
tity leaches  out,  and  this  becomes  very  ob- 
jectionable, as  in  interior  wood  block  floors. 

For  these  and  for  many  other  uses  of  pre-     The 
served  timber,  the  Rueping  process  is  pre-     Rueping 
ferred.    Leaching  or  bleeding  of  oil  is  prac-     Process. 
tically  eliminated,  inasmuch  as  all  excess 
oil  is  removed.     The  Rueping  Process  has 

Do  not  buy  wood  that  is  preserved  beyond  its  possible 

mechanical  life.  35 


(Jeolitfmnn 


been  called  the  empty  cell  process.  It  dif- 
fers from  the  Bethel,  in  that  it  is  possible  to 
obtain  a  very  deep  penetration  at  a  small 
consumption  of  oil.  The  same  type  of 
cylindrical  tank  is  used,  but  the  procedure 
is  reversed.  The  wood  is  piled  into  buggies, 
the  buggies  are  run  into  the  tank,  and  the 
tank  closed  and  sealed  in  much  the  same 
way.  Then,  instead  of  drawing  a  vacuum, 
air  is  pumped  into  the  tank  until  the  air  in 
the  wood  cells  is  compressed.  Creosote  oil 
is  then  admitted  into  the  cylinder  and  the 
pressure  is  increased  to  about  150  pounds  a 
square  inch,  forcing  the  oil  deeply  into  the 
wood.  When  that  has  been  accomplished, 
the  pressure  is  released;  and  the  expansion 
of  the  compressed  air  within  the  cells  ex- 
pels the  surplus  creosote  from  the  wood, 
this  expulsion  being  aided  by  drawing  a 
vacuum  in  the  tank.  By  this  method,  a  very 
deep  penetration  is  obtained  and  at  the 
same  time  no  oil  is  wasted.  Thus  it  is  very 
economical,  when  it  is  adapted  to  the  pur- 
pose required. 

The  real  This  adaptation  to  the  required  purpose 

science  of       jg  ^ne  cn|ef  point  in  wood  preservation.  The 

lion,6'  preservation  of  wood  is  a  scientific  matter. 

Every  step  in  the  process  from  living  tree 

to  preserved  timber  must  be  supervised  with 

When  you  buy  Creolignum,  you  build  for  the  future. 
When  we  sell  Creolignum,  we  build  for  the  future.    We 
36  do  not  dare  deliver  less  than  the  best. 


(reoli^num 


an  eye  upon  the  result  required,  an  eye 
trained  by  long  experience  with  all  the  prob- 
lems it  presents. 

In  the  first  place  the  wood  itself  must  be 
right.  Where  long-leaf  pine  is  required, 
care  must  be  taken  to  get  genuine  long-leaf 
and  not  short-leaf  or  loblolly  pine.  Where 
these  will  do,  it  is  wasteful  to  use  long-leaf. 
Second :  for  some  purposes  wood  should  be 
cut  at  a  special  time  of  the  year.  Wood  cut 
in  the  winter  is  very  different  in  its  nature 
from  wood  cut  in  spring  or  summer.  It  is 
less  liable  to  insect  and  fungus  attack  and 
can  be  seasoned  with  much  less  danger  of 
checking.  All  wood  must  be  thoroughly 
peeled  of  bark  before  being  preserved.  A 
single  strip  of  bark  will  prevent  the  injec- 
tion of  the  preservative  beneath  it,  and  the 
failure  of  a  whole  process  of  preservation 
can  come  from  one  shred  of  adhering  bark. 
The  limitations  of  this  book  prevents  us 
from  entering  into  a  discussion  of  season- 
ing, but  every  one  knows  that  wood  improp- 
erly seasoned  may  warp  and  check  in  serv- 
ice. Seasoning  should  take  place  before 
preservation  treatment. 

It  is  not  feasible  within  the  limits  of  this 
book  to  describe  in  detail  the  various  prob- 
lems that  occur  in  preserving  wood  with 


The 

selection 
of  the 
wood. 


"Save  the  surface  and  you  save  all" — that  is  to  say  until 
the  surface  is  broken.  Creolignum  is  preserved  clear 
thru. 


37 


urn 


Difficulties 
in  the 
way  of  the 
wood  pre- 
serving 
engineer. 


creosote  oil.  They  are  many  and  varied. 
The  wood  preserving  engineer  must  take 
into  consideration  the  nature  and  quality 
of  the  wood.  He  must  understand  its  struc- 
ture and  the  amount  of  seasoning  required. 
He  must  know  the  use  to  which  the  wood  is 
to  be  put  after  it  has  been  preserved  so  as  to 
determine  the  required  number  of  pounds  of 
creosote  oil  per  cubic  foot  of  timber.  He 
should  know  the  extent  to  which  the  wood 
is  to  be  subject  to  mechanical  abrasion,  to 
the  attack  of  insects  and  marine-borers,  and 
to  the  presence  of  other  forces  inimical  to 
the  welfare  of  the  wood.  Then,  inasmuch  as 
wood  preservation  is  primarily  a  matter  of 
economy,  he  must  operate  his  creosoting 
plant  in  such  a  way  as  to  get  the  greatest 
possible  amount  of  preservation  for  the 
quantity  of  oil  used.  He  must  guard  against 
evaporation  and  other  waste,  and  at  the 
same  time  he  must  give  the  preservative 
treatment  the  wood  requires.  The  many 
problems  of  preservation  demand  the  most 
thorough  equipment  of  experiences.  The 
right  process  for  the  particular  use  in  hand 
should  be  selected,  and  should  be  selected 
by  engineers  skilled  in  wood  preserving 
problems. 


38 


Wood  is  the  most  workable  and  the  most  adaptable 
material  in  the  world.  Properly  treated,  it  can  be  made 
to  outlast  steel  or  stone. 


Saving  the  Forests  Saves  You 

long  as  a  country  is  heavily  forested,  no- 
/"  body  bothers  to  save  wood.  It  is  when 
forests  are  becoming  scarce  that  the  govern- 
ment begins  to  think  about  saving.  Our 
Government  estimates  that  the  efficient  ap- 
plication of  preserving  methods  would  de- 
crease the  drain  on  our  forests  by  seven 
billion  board  feet  a  year.  This  amounts  to 
a  saving  of  about  $84,000,000  a  year.  Wood 
preservation,  then,  not  only  spares  our  for- 
ests for  the  future  but  is  sound  capitaliza- 
tion for  the  present.  If  you  are  using  your 
share  of  wood,  why  not  save  your  share? 

We  preserve  our  steel  by  paint  and  our 
concrete  by  dressing.  We  treat  everything 
we  use  in  order  to  prolong  its  life  of  use- 
fulness. Why  not  preserve  our  wood  with 
creosote?  People  have  not  yet  come  to 
regard  creosoting  as  a  matter  of  course. 
The  reason  they  have  not  is  because  it  was 
for  so  long  our  national  habit  to  look  upon 
our  forests  as  eternal  and  our  wood  as 
short-lived.  We  have  gone  on  building  out 
of  a  supposedly  inexhaustible  stock  and  for 
the  present  only,  saying  to  ourselves  that 


Wood  pre- 
servation 
will  save 
our  forests. 
Do  your 
share! 


The  good 
sense  of 
preserva- 
tion. 


Ask  your  safety  engineer  about  his  floor  troubles.     He 
will  prescribe  Creolignum. 


39 


(reolidmnn 


Another 
economy. 


Giving  a 
new  value 
to  inferior 
wood. 


40 


the  life  of  such  and  such  a  structure  is  only 
just  so  many  years  anyhow. 

But  the  science  of  wood  preservation  has 
shown  us  the  supreme  folly  of  such  an  atti- 
tude. 

Not  only  that — by  preserving  wood  for 
building  construction,  woods  not  naturally 
durable  can  be  made  to  compete  with  the 
more  expensive  kind  and  are  preferable  in 
that  some  possess  greater  strength.  When 
the  best  in  the  forests  has  gone,  people  have 
to  use  second  best.  This  country  was  very 
wasteful  of  its  best,  but  it  was  also  very 
lucky  in  not  having  to  take  second  best  until 
science  had  found  a  way  to  make  that 
durable.  The  best  wood  grows  scarcer  and 
more  expensive  every  day.  Creosoting  per- 
mits us  to  use  inferior  woods  which  without 
preserving  would  be  of  little  or  no  value. 
Almost  any  kind  of  non-durable  wood  can 
by  treatment  be  made  into  a  good  post.  An 
inferior  wood  can  sometimes  be  made  even 
more  durable  than  a  more  expensive  wood. 
A  pine  cross  arm  untreated  lives  only  two- 
thirds  as  long  as  an  untreated  fir  cross  arm ; 
but  treat  them  both  and  the  cheaper  pine 
lives  one-fifth  longer.  With  antiseptic  treat- 
ment and  reasonable  allowance,  when 
required,  for  difference  in  strength,  the  in- 
ferior quality  is  as  satisfactory  as  the  more 
expensive ;  but  without  antiseptic  treatment 
it  invites  disaster. 

Before  deciding,  consult  a  Rodd  engineer.    His  services 
are  free. 


(reoli^num 


When  wood  rots,  it  means  far  more  than 
the  cost  of  new  lumber.  It  means  the  cost 
of  labor  to  take  out  the  rotten  piece  and  put 
in  the  sound  piece.  In  structural  cases,  it 
means  besides  the  cost  of  all  the  materials 
destroyed  and  of  all  those  furnished  in  the 
taking  out  and  putting  in.  It  often  means 
costly  interference  with  the  normal  condi- 
tions or  output  of  the  structure.  Thus  it 
is  economic  waste  of  the  worst  type. 

Suppose  labor  cost  nothing.  Suppose  that 
timber  when  put  into  an  expensive  struc- 
ture cost  no  more  than  timber  lying  on  the 
ground.  Suppose  that  replacing  rotted  tim- 
ber were  absolutely  no  trouble,  that  it  did 
not  cause  delays,  nor  hold  up  traffic  and 
business.  Suppose  all  this.  Even  then,  it 
would  pay  to  preserve  wood. 

In  these  days  of  changing  prices,  we  can- 
not take  up  specifically  the  actual  costs  of 
untreated  and  preserved  wood  and  expect 
this  book  to  be  accurate  for  a  month  from 
the  day  it  goes  to  press.  But  we  can  make 
general  statements  in  regard  to  the  relative 
price  of  untreated  and  preserved  timber. 
In  any  given  case,  the  Rodd  Company  will 
be  glad  to  prove  in  dollars  and  cents  that 
preserved  timber  is  more  economical  than 
untreated  timber.  This  economy  may  be 


Saving 

labor 

costs. 


An  out' 

and-out 

economy 

in 

material. 


For  mills  where  there  is  a  high  relative  humidity,  Creo- 
lignum  floors  and  timbers  are  imperative. 


41 


(reolidnum 


expressed  thus.  The  cost  of  untreated  tim- 
ber divided  by  the  years  of  its  service  is 
greater  than  the  cost  of  preserved  timber  di- 
vided by  the  years  of  its  service.  This  state- 
ment is  based  on  the  false  supposition  that 
the  cost  of  replacement  is  zero.  But  labor 
is  far  from  costing  nothing.  The  cost  of 
replacement  is  always  in  excess  of  the  mere 
cost  of  the  material  used.  Suppose  an  un- 
treated fence  post  should  cost  17  cents.  Sup- 
pose that  same  post,  fully  impregnated  with 
creosote,  should  cost  33  cents.  The  initial 
Initial  cost  of  the  creosoted  post  is  nearly  double 

cost  vs.  that  of  the  untreated  post.     But  the  un- 

final  cost.  treated  post  lasts  5  years.  The  creosoted 
post  lasts  21  years.  The  annual  cost  of  the 
untreated  post  is  4  cents.  The  annual  cost 
of  the  creosoted  post  is  only  2.8  cents.  Such 
a  saving,  in  a  long  fence,  is  very  material. 
But  that  is  the  smallest  part  of  it.  In  the 
21  years  of  life  of  a  creosoted  post,  four 
rotted  posts  would  have  been  pulled  out,  five 
holes  would  have  been  dug,  and  five  un- 
treated posts  would  have  been  placed  in  the 
ground — all  by  labor  which  costs  something. 
Consider  for  a  moment  these  tables  com- 
piled from  tables  in  Howard  F.  Weiss's 
book,  "The  Preservation  of  Structural  Tim- 
ber." 


Creolignum  is  a  trade-marked  article,  advertised  thruout 
the  country,  and  dependent  upon  good  will  for  its  future. 
It  must  conform  to  specifications,  and  the  specifications 
42  must  be  right. 


1. — A   floor   that   will   not   injure 
dropped   tools   or   castings 


2      and      3. — Typical     creosoted 

wood  block  floors  at  the  United 

Engineering    and    Foundry    Co., 

Pittsburgh 


4. — Wood  blocks  that  stand  the 
hammering   of  constant   traffic 


(reoli^num 


LIFE  OF  FENCE  POSTS     Life  of  Posts 

Method  of  Treatment  in  years 

Untreated    5 

Brush-treated  with  creosote 9 

Dipped  in  creosote   11 

Impregnated  with  zinc  chloride  or  mercuric 

chloride    12 

Impregnated  with  creosote   20 

LIFE  OF  MINE  TIMBERS     Life  of  Tim. 

Method  of  Treatment  bers  in  years 

Untreated    2 

Brush-treated  with  creosote 5 

Burnettized   (zinc  chloride) 10 

Rueping  Process  (empty  cell  creosote) 11 

Bethel  Process  (full  cell  creosote) 15 

LIFE  OF  POLES  ufeofpoies 

Method  of  Treatment  (Cedar  Poles)  in  years 

Untreated    14 

Charred  at  butt 15 

Butt  brush-treated  18 

Butt  treated  with  zinc  chloride  (open  tank)  22 
Butt   treated  with   mercuric   chloride    (open 

tank)     24 

Butt  treated  with  creosote  (open  tank)....  30 

Bethel  process — full  cell  creosote  (pressure)  30 

LIFE  OF  CROSS  ARMS 

Life  of  Fir  Life  of  Pine 

Method  of  Treatment  Cross  Arms  Cross  Arms 

in  years  in  years 

Untreated 15  10 

Rueping  Process   (empty  cell) .     25  30 

Dipping  in  creosote    20  18 

Note:  The  Bethel  process  uses  too  much  creosote 
for  cross  arms.  They  become  too  heavy  and  are 
objectionable  because  the  preservative  drips  from 
them. 

A  floor  of  Creolignum  can  be  laid  over  any  other  floor 
—without  seriously  interrupting  the  regular  work  of  the 
factory.  43 


{reolidnum 


The  following  table  showing  how  the  life 
of  railroad  ties  is  prolonged  by  preservation 
has  been  compiled  from  statistics  collected 
by  The  Eodd  Company. 

Life  in  Years 

Rueping  Bethel 

Kind  of  Wood      Untreated  Burnettized      Process  Process 

White   Oak   ...  8-10  

Beech    3-5          10-12          15-20         20-30 

Birch    3-5          10-12          15-20          20-30 

Maple   3-5          10-12          15-20         20-30 

Red  Oak  Family  4-6          10-12          15-20          20-30 
Heart  Pine  ....  6-8          10-12  15  15 

Sap  Pine  2-3          10-12  15  15-20 

Note: — White  oak  ties  have  the  longest  life  of 
any  untreated  tie.  They  are  very  expensive  and 
are  becoming  scarce.  But  inasmuch  as  they  resist 
preservation,  they  are  rarely  treated  and  usually  are 
not  protected  with  plates. 

These  tables  serve  to  show  in  a  general 
way  how  preservation  treatments  add  to  the 
life  of  wood. 

The  chief          The  chief  commercial  uses  of  preserved 

commer-        wood  are  as  follows : 

cial  uses.  L  Kailroad  cross-ties. 

2.  Wood  block  street  paving. 

3.  Interior  wood  block  factory  floors. 

4.  Poles  and  piling. 

5.  Structural  timbers  for  bridges,  docks, 
trestles,  abutments,  retaining  walls. 

6.  Cross-arms    (for   telegraph   and   tele- 
phone poles). 

7.  Wooden  conduit. 

8.  Fence  posts. 

Every  day  is  bringing  to  light  new  uses  for  preserved 
wood.     Creolignum  can   be   supplied  for  any  purpose, 
44  new  or  old. 


The  wood  preserving  industry  is  expand- 
ing at  a  very  healthy  rate  which  indicates 
that  the  large  consumers  of  wood  who  make 
close  study  of  the  relation  between  initial 
cost  and  wearing  value  realize  its  economic 
advantages.  Especially  are  railroad  com- 
panies and  municipalities  alive  to  the 
sound  economy  of  wood  preservation. 

STREET  PAVING. — The  increasing  use  of 
wood  block  street  paving  is  the  greatest 
testimony  of  its  superiority.  A  wood  block 
pavement  is  about  as  durable  as  a  stone 
block  pavement  and  more  durable  than  any 
other.  It  is  nearly  as  smooth  as  new  as- 
phalt and  smoother  than  any  other  pave- 
ment. It  is  by  far  the  quietest  pavement 
and  the  easiest  to  repair  and  maintain.  All 
the  wear  comes  on  the  end  of  the  grain  and 
is  almost  imperceptible.  After  the  Balti- 
more fire  the  wood  block  pavement  was  in- 
tact when  the  concrete  pavement  had  melted 
and  run  off  through  the  gutters. 

FACTORY  FLOORING. — Just  as  wood  blocks 
make  the  most  efficient  street  paving,  so  also 
they  make  the  most  desirable  floors  for 
many  types  of  factories.  But  in  addition 
to  the  qualities  that  make  them  good  for 
street  paving,  it  must  be  noted  that  for  fac- 
tory use,  wood  blocks  have  other  qualities 


Consider  not  the  cost  of  building,  but  the  cost  of  re- 
building. And  figure  in  the  delays  and  suspension  of 
work. 


The  finest 
paving  in 
the  world. 


The  fault- 
less floor 
for 

factory, 
warehouse 
or  shop. 


45 


(reoliffirum 


to  recommend  them.  They  are  soft  and 
resilient  under  the  feet.  They  do  not  in- 
jure dropped  tools.  They  are  free  from  an- 
noying dusts.  Dust  too  is  sometimes  very 
destructive;  the  annual  damage  to  paper 
stock  alone  in  storage  and  warehouse  from 
the  dust  of  concrete  floors  is  astounding. 
Wood  block  floors  do  not  reflect  light  or 
heat.  They  are  not  monolithic.  Any  part  of 
such  a  floor  can  be  ripped  out  or  replaced  to 
make  repairs,  or  install  new  machinery.  The 
blocks  offer  a  perfect  surface  for  trucking. 
They  may  be  laid  over  any  concrete  floor 
now  in  use,  with  practically  no  interruption 
of  factory  work. 

Summary.  Summary. — The  useful  life  of  any  wood 
that  is  subject  to  the  attack  of  its  enemies 
— decay,  insects,  marine-borers,  mechanical 
abrasion  and  fire — can  be  materially  in- 
creased at  a  real  saving  of  money.  If  there 
were  a  national  consciousness  of  this  econ- 
omy and  if  the  present  appalling  waste  of 
lumber  for  needless  replacements  were  elim- 
inated, our  forest  problem  would  be  solved. 
Our  personal  contribution  towards  solv- 
ing this  problem  we  have  called  "Creolig- 


Seize  upon  a  strike  as  an  opportunity  to  make  repairs 
and  alterations.     A  new  floor  of  Creolignum  may  help 
46  prevent  strikes. 


1. — A  three-year-old  fence  sadly  in  need  of  repair. 
Unpreserved  posts   were  used — an  expensive   prac- 
tise  in   the  long  run 

2. — A   ten-year-old    fence   as   sturdy   as    the   day    it 

was   built.      The   creosoted    wood   posts   have    long 

since   saved   their   additional   cost 


3. — A    Creohgnum    fence   post,    properly   preserved 
to  resist  decay.      Note  the  water-shedding  top 


(reoli<femm:  •  ;\j •  \  /       /•*. :;  * 


The  Meaning  of  "Creolignum" 

'/^REOLIGNUM"  is  a  registered  trade  name 
V-<  for  two  things — a  material  and  a  ser- 


vice. 

The  material  is  wood. 

The  service  is  an  engineering  service  thai 
determines  the  specifications  of  that  wood 
to  suit  the  special  need  of  the  buyer. 

Both  are  supplied  by  THE  RODD  COM- 
PANY, Century  Building,  Pittsburgh,  and 
THE  SOUTHERN  WOOD  PRESERVING 
CO.,  Atlanta,  Ga. 

"Creolignum/'  then,  means  preserved 
wood  that  is  preserved  to  order. 

If  you  have  read  this  book  carefully,  it 
must  be  evident  to  you  that 

First — Wood  preserving  is  an  economy. 

Second — An  economy  must  operate  with- 
out waste. 

Third — Preserving  wood  so  as  to  get  any- 
thing less  than  the  longest  life  at  a  given 
cost  is  waste. 

Fourth — Protecting  wood  against  decay 
for  a  longer  period  than  its  possible  mechan- 
ical life,  is  waste. 

Fifth — Preserving  wood  by  a  complete, 
expensive  process,  when  a  cheaper  process 
will  answer  the  purpose,  is  waste.  47 


(reoli^num 


— Preserving  wood  by  a  method  that 
is  dangerous  or  disagreeable  or  unsuited  to 
its  purpose  is  worse  than  waste. 

CONCLUSION. — Preserving  wood  is  a  sci- 
entific job.  It  must  be  done  in  a  scientific 
way.  The  Creolignum  way  is  the  scientific 
way. 

Creolignum  is  not  the  result  of  any  one 
process  nor  of  special  manufacturing  facil- 
ities. The  processes  differ  with  each  indi- 
vidual case. 

You  cannot  buy  Creolignum  unless  it  will 
serve  your  purposes  better  than  anything 
else. 

You  cannot  buy  Creolignum  unless  it  is 
built  according  to  specifications  determined 
by  our  engineers  to  suit  your  particular 
needs. 


48 


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TtJ 


422028 


